Among the treasures of the Sedalia Ragtime Archive are sections of G. Thomas Ireland’s old clarinets. Though Sedalia ragtime is usually associated with Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall, Scott Hayden and Brunson Campbell, Tom Ireland deserves his place among that panoply of ragtime greats. Let me explain for those unacquainted with this Sedalia legend.
Unlike the other Sedalia ragtime personalities, “Tom” Ireland, as he was affectionately known around town for 95 of his 97 years, lived and stayed in Sedalia from 1868 to 1963. During his career he worked for all the many local newspapers and even edited and possibly owned a short lived paper for African-Americans, The Western World, in the 1890s. Tom was active in Republican politics for his first 60 years. As his mother often reminded him, he had been born only a few days after slaves had been freed by the Republicans and their Reconstruction Amendments. However, I must note that Tom defected to the Democratic Party during the Depression and became an FDR Democrat despite his loyalty to Mr. Lincoln and the Reconstruction.
The Irelands had two sons and lived comfortably, albeit modestly, on Sedalia’s Northside. Before I finally get to my titled subject, however, I must add a very important observation. Sedalia was and to an unfortu
